After the Enforcement of U.S. Bill, Canada Declares the National Security Review on TikTok was Ordered Months Ago

The Federal Liberals ordered national security review over the famous music video app, TikTok in September 2023, but it was never disclosed publicly.

The discussions are taken into account after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday stating to ban the app until it is in the hold of China.

“This is still an ongoing case. We can’t comment further because of the confidentiality provisions of the Investment Canada Act,” a spokesperson for Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said.

“Our government has never hesitated to (take) action, when necessary, if a case under review is found to be injurious to Canada’s national security.”

It was asked if Canada would take a step similar to the U.S. Bill, to which Champagne’s office said that the Liberal cabinet “issued an order for the national security review of TikTok Canada” on Sept. 6.

It mentioned that the previous review was taken place to expand the business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. No other information was disclosed about what expansion was being reviewed.

The office mentions that the cabinet order is not online accessible as the information is protected and confidential under the Investment Canada Act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 after federal and provincial privacy commissioners launched their own investigation into the platform.

The Canadian review is not related to the proposed U.S. bill, which is driven by concerns that the company’s current ownership structure is a national security threat.

Navneet Kaur